PTA is the nation’s oldest and largest volunteer child advocacy organization, with a legacy of work that has improved the lives of every child in this country. On Friday, January 27, National PTA announced its 2017 Federal Public Policy Agenda with a Facebook Live event (view recording).
As part of this announcement, National PTA released PTA Advocacy Changes Lives, National PTA’s guide to impacting public policy. The guide highlights PTA’s advocacy work and provides information on topics such as family engagement, juvenile justice, supporting children with special needs, health, and safety. Each section also includes a Why PTA Advocacy Matters section that shares a personal story of how PTA advocacy has changed the lives of children at the local level. If your PTA is looking for a way to make a difference in your school or your district, the PTA Advocacy Changes Lives guide is a great place to start.
Also included in the announcement was the release of National PTA’s legislative checklist for the 115th Congress. The checklist includes the following goals:
- Adequately fund education programs through a regular appropriations process
- Reauthorize the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA)
- Reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
- Reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act
- Reauthorize and modernize the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA) and Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)
- Improve the well-being and learning environment of children
- Expand and enhance early childhood education opportunities
- Protect youth, families, and communities from gun and other violence
The checklist provides additional details on each of these goals.
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